Beneath the Elder Tree

by Hazel Black

  I stalled in a courtyard surrounded by four tall blocks of apartments and watched the little red lights flickering all around me. It didn’t take long to find one that outshone all others. In fact, there was one aura blazing from a window high above me that was so strong that I believed it could be the ripper that I was so desperate to find. Only someone truly evil could emit so much negativity. The chances of it being the man I was searching for were slim, but I had to go up there to be sure. If it wasn’t him, I would at least have a feast of aura to gorge on.

  I made my way to the stairwell and began my trek up the concrete steps. I was weaker than I had been for many days and my pace slowed as I climbed each flight of stairs. When I got to the sixth floor I found two junkies huddled together, laughing and babbling aimlessly, as most junkies do. Their auras were feeble, but there was a concentrated negativity within them that I could easily sap away. I reached out and placed a hand on each of their chests. They visibly shuddered at my touch. I liked having that power over people I would have once been scared of. Their negativity gathered in their chests and flowed through my arms and into my soul. When I had taken all they had to offer I pulled away and continued my journey to the higher levels. The junkies slid down the wall and fell unconscious on the floor, both foaming at the mouth.

  By the time I reached the tenth floor I was beginning to dread what I would find. I was already experienced enough to know that mortals only released massive amounts of energy when they were engaging in some deeply depraved act. What on earth was I about to witness? I just hoped that I could drain this evil person before they could do any serious damage to others.

  I paused in the hallway and took a moment to prepare myself in the dim light before passing through the main door into the misty innards of the apartment. The crimson cloud of aura filled every inch of the room. At first it was difficult to even see where it was coming from. After a moment I realised that the mortal wasn’t even in the room. This was just residual aura, and that the person I was searching for was in an adjoining bedroom.

  I remained still for a moment and allowed the cloud of dark energy to be attracted to me and consumed by my soul. The room became clearer and my energy levels were rising fast. I was strong enough now to go to the bedroom and uncover the source of this uncommonly powerful mortal.

  I paced straight through the plaster wall and found myself in a cramped room that was full of litter and bundles of dirty clothes. There were two glass doors that led to the balcony to my left and the red aura was pouring through them into the night air. At the opposite end of the room was a single bed. What was transpiring on top of that bed was gut wrenching.

  The source of the aura was a young man - much younger than the ripper I was hunting. He was painfully thin and had dark skin and long braided hair. He was naked and there were colourful tattoos coating his sinewy limbs. He was hunched over a dying woman, who was tied by her ankles and wrists to the metal frame of the bed, her neck cut open. Having practically killed her in such a brutal fashion was bad enough. What he was doing to her almost lifeless body was on a higher level evil than I had yet come across.

  He had used a knife - that was lying next to the body - to slice open the woman’s throat and was now sucking the blood from the gaping wound. At least that’s what I thought he was doing…

  I should have been grateful to find someone so decrepit; his wicked aura would be enough to keep me going for a week. I wasn’t a true black spirit yet though, and I found this depraved scene too much to take. I could not stand by watching at a man defiling a woman and do nothing. My anger exploded as I watched him. The energy that I had consumed made me drunk with power.

  I flew into a rage and lashed out at him. To my astonishment my fist had passed into the realm of the living and had clattered into the side of his head. He stumbled over then began waving at thin air in a vain attempt to protect himself. His arms passed straight through my spirit body as I lunged at him, this time striking him in the face and opening up a cut on his cheek. Such was his shock that he tripped over the bed post and landed hard on the floor. He screamed out then scrambled away from me. But I was relentless. I kicked and beat him in a vicious frenzy. He called out and begged for mercy. He did not find me in a forgiving mood. I kept up the beating until he managed to get to his feet and run to the balcony. Big mistake.

  Once he got to the balcony I ran at him and again my fists passed into the physical world and struck his chest. He was knocked back violently and toppled over the low wall. I went to the ledge and looked down as his body went spinning through the air. There was a sickening crack as he hit the ground, and a flash of red aura and red blood was blown outward. Retribution felt wonderful. It felt truly magnificent and I laughed aloud at what I had done. I finally had true power!

  My laughter was then brought to an abrupt end. The killer’s body was broken beyond repair but I had not killed him…

  To my astonishment there was a figure in the centre of all that red liquid and mist and he was staring straight back at me. The killer’s body lay at his feet. It was a ghost. It was short and thin and deep black in colour. Its eyes flashed red and I heard it laugh wickedly before it fled across the courtyard that separated the four blocks of apartments.

  I could hardly think straight. This was something altogether new and shocking. A ghost had been living in the body of a mortal - a possession - but not one like I had performed on Laura and Mouse. This ghostly abomination had actually been living in the body and using it to perform a murder. Now I thought back to how the human body was sucking blood from the victim - were there actually two crimes being committed? Was the mortal sucking blood while the ghost sucked energy? I never believed vampires could exist. Now I knew they did - and they were much more decrepit than any horror movie or romantic novel could ever portray.

  The beauty that existed in the spirit worlds was matched only by the horrors that existed side by side with it. In that moment I wanted to discover no more of what was possible in this place. I gazed at the broken body in the courtyard and realised that the living person was nothing more than a puppet and I had killed him. The ghost could easily take another body - perhaps it already had. How could I do good in a world that was built on evil and darkness? Was it possible? It didn’t seem so as I leaned over the balcony and examined the ghastly mess in the courtyard.

  I moved back into the room to find the manacled woman dead. I had arrived too late to save her from the ghastly death that the vampire had given her. I stupidly approached the bed and was wrenched forward. I was being sucked into the corpse and it took a fierce effort to break free from the invisible grip.

  The apartment was no longer safe and I used my new found strength to glide out the window, away from the block. And I was lucky I had gotten out when I did; the shepherd was circling the building as I slipped through a narrow alleyway that led to one of the busy streets of the city centre. I’d almost been caught again.

  The only positive to take from the horrific experience was that I had regained the energy I needed. I was able to sprout my angel wings and soar across the city much quicker than before and avoid any possibility of being caught by the shepherd. It didn’t take long to reach the cathedral and to climb one of its towers and find a way inside the attic.

  Tim was nowhere to be seen. I had arrived too late, and he had obviously flown away into night world. He was gone, but I was not alone.

  I had slipped through the decaying roof of the old structure and found myself looking across the shadowy attic at another ghost. I recognised her as the slender faced spirit that had been watching me so carefully some weeks before, when the ghosts had come to meet Tim. He’d told me her name was Natalia. She was tall and slim, a black leather outfit covering her long limbs and narrow body. She was pale, as most ghosts are, and had large eyes that were calm and pinkish red in colour. Her face was attractive and
strong, and her hair was golden and dangled in curls around her shoulders.

  ‘Where is Tim?’ I asked sheepishly.

  ‘How should I know?’ she replied. She spoke with an arrogant flavour - in much the same way Tim did. ‘And why would I care?’

  ‘Why are you here if you don’t care?’

  ‘I was in the neighbourhood and decided to pop in. Thought I’d find him here but he’s obviously out on the hunt, or whatever he does with his time. Strange that you are not with him. I thought the pair of you were practically inseparable.’

  ‘We don’t spend all our time together.’

  ‘You certainly don’t spend your days together … that’s quite intriguing.’

  ‘Is it?’

  ‘Yes. It would mean that you don’t sleep in daylight like the rest of us do.’ She began to draw closer. I could not read any thought or emotion from her, and that worried me. ‘Tell me, Lucy, where do you go when mirror world rises?’

  ‘That’s my business.’

  ‘Of course it is.’ She came closer still, almost hovering over the dusty wooden floor. Her form was shifting slightly. She became taller, more voluptuous, stronger and deceptively seductive. ‘I do like you, Lucy. It would be a great shame if you turned against your own kind. I really would hate it if they were forced to hurt you.’

  ‘They?’

  ‘The others…’

  ‘They have no reason to.’

  ‘Those who keep secrets and walk in daylight are often feared by our kind. Fear can swiftly turn to hatred. Hatred inevitably leads to violence. Surely you’ve lived in the domain of the dead long enough to know that?’

  ‘I like walking in mirror world. There’s no secret. I don’t hide it from anyone. It’s just that the rest of the spirits in this place are sleeping in daylight. It’s not my fault that you don’t know where I am.’

  ‘Walking in mirror world,’ she chuckled. ‘That is rather morbid, isn’t it? The mirror world is so glum and depressing to behold. It would not appeal to my taste at all.’

  ‘There’s no accounting for taste.’

  ‘Evidently not.’ An inquisitive smile lightened her face as she examined me with her vibrant eyes. ‘You really should be sleeping in daylight and enjoying the fruits that night world has to offer. Do you still have a conscience? Is that it? You like to watch the living and feel pity for them?’

  ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about.’

  ‘I’m not accusing you of anything, Lucy. Try to be calm.’

  ‘I am calm.’

  ‘You have nothing to fear from me. Actually, I quite like you. I find you strangely interesting to watch and to talk to.’

  ‘I thought you liked Tim,’ I replied. ‘I was under the impression that you were jealous of me.’

  She laughed wildly at this. ‘That’s as funny as it is ridiculous. Tim is fascinating to look at, yes, but he’s not someone who could ever capture my heart. He bores me with his revolutionary speeches and desire for power. Such an angry ghost he is.’

  ‘He’s more interesting than me.’

  ‘I see shyness and modesty has stayed with you. Guilt, fear, pity and sadness also. Yes, so many mortal traits have remained in you.’

  ‘And what if I do feel as mortals do?’

  ‘I told you that you have nothing to fear from me. I don’t want to judge you. I won’t judge you. What I will do is advise you to hide those emotions as best you can. The ghosts are a ragged bunch, they care for little, they are not fond of one another, and often bicker, but they can be gathered and galvanised if they feel that something or someone threatens them.’

  ‘How could my emotions threaten them?’

  ‘What is strange can be feared. I’ve already told you what could happen.’

  ‘I’ll try to remember that,’ I said, slowly backing away from her into the shadows. ‘Do you find me interesting because I have these emotions?’

  ‘I’ve been in this place for ninety three years,’ she answered, matching my every move. ‘I’ve seen all there is to see. Most of the spirits are predictable. You are not. I like that. I can show you much more than Tim can. He’s still young and foolish, despite having a lot of influence over the older and more powerful of our kind. I have managed the growing evil within me and have not capitulated to it. However, I have grown quite indifferent in recent years and that bothers me. You see, I like to feel somewhat human. Losing all that was human about me is frustrating. It instils in me a certain sense of loss.’

  ‘You don’t feel human at all?’

  ‘Only one human desire has remained in me all this time: Companionship.’

  ‘You’re looking for a lover?’

  ‘That’s a primitive and, dare I say it, mortal thing to say. Companionship in the realm of the dead is much more that simply lust or love.’

  ‘I am flattered, Natalia… It’s just that Tim is…’

  ‘Tim holds your attention for now. I can see that and understand it. Be cautious of getting too close to him, Lucy, especially now that he plans to destroy the shepherd, and has befriended the oldest of our kind. You don’t want to make powerful enemies.’

  ‘You don’t trust him, do you?’

  ‘I have never met a ghost I could trust. Perhaps you could change all that. A ghost with a conscience and compassion might be one that I could invest my trust in. A ghost like that might make for a worthy companion.’

  I wanted to tell her that I desired to flee the city forever. She had spoken to me in a fashion that I could relate to. Not even Tim’s compliments and promises affected me like Natalia’s words. I found her comforting. She was a person, not just a ghostly remnant of a long dead mortal. I could have talked to her the whole night. I could listened to her the whole night. Unfortunately we didn’t get the chance to exchange another word.

  A thick black cloud whipped up in the space between us and a figure gradually emerged from it. His red eyes blazed through the gloom and focused on me. I could sense anger and confusion before I even saw his face. Tim had returned and was very pissed off.

  ‘Where were you?’ he demanded. ‘Is this a game that you’re playing with me? I was looking…’ He trailed off when he sensed there was another ghost standing behind him. His eyes sank in colour and his cross demeanour disappeared when he realised it was Natalia. ‘What’s all this…?’

  ‘I happened by and found your friend here,’ Natalie said confidently. ‘She’s been looking for you.’

  ‘What have the two of you been talking about?’

  Natalia’s eyes blazed red and she visibly grew in size. ‘You pry into my affairs, child?’ she snapped. ‘Do you believe that you are superior to me in some way?’

  ‘Just curious…’ Tim said, almost cowering before the older ghost.

  ‘You know what they say about curiosity, don’t you.’ Natalie looked at me and winked before disappearing into a violent storm of black mist.

  ‘What did she say to you?’ Tim asked angrily when he was sure Natalia was gone.

  ‘Very little.’

  ‘Be careful of her, Lucy. That ghost is very old and very clever.’

  ‘Those aren’t things to fear.’

  ‘She can poison a person’s mind with only a few words, Lucy. No ghost is to be taken lightly.’

  ‘Let’s not argue, Tim. Let’s go somewhere away from this rotten cathedral. Maybe we can go to the forest again?’

  ‘I can’t. Not tonight.’

  ‘Why not?’

  ‘I am to speak with the others again. And I’d like you to come with me this time.’

  ‘No. I told you before, Tim, I don’t feel comfortable with your plan. I’d rather stay out of it and away from the others. You said
it yourself, no ghost is to be taken lightly and I don’t think I’m experienced enough to deal with a situation like that.’ It was a wonderful lie, and one that Tim believed.

  ‘I must go to them, Lucy. It will mean another night here without me.’

  ‘I’ll live.’

  ‘Of course you will.’ He reached out and caressed my cheek, before gravitating towards me and kissing me softly. Tim was so tender and sweet when he wanted to be - when he wasn’t thinking about revenge. ‘Soon we’ll have time and freedom.’

  ‘Tim, don’t depend on something that is uncertain.’

  ‘I don’t like that you doubt me so much.’ He drew his hands away and paced to the centre of the attic. ‘Would it hurt to believe in me?’

  He had disappeared before I could answer.

  * * *

  The line between friend and foe was often blurred in the afterlife. I’d been aware of that since I first entered the spirit world. As each day passed it became harder to tell one from the other. Perhaps I was still thinking as mortals do. Perhaps friendship was a concept that only existed in the mortal world.

  Natalia commanded both fear and respect. She was so strong and confident that it was almost impossible to question what she said. Tim had brought me down to earth quickly, saying that she was trying to cloud my judgement. But I wondered why she would do that? She would gain little by befriending me - certainly not as much as I would gain from a possible friendship with her. And it was clear my fears that she was involved with Tim were way off the mark. She had treated him with indifference - almost distain. He had reacted to her with fear. He had cloaked it well, but both Natalia and I sensed that he was intimidated by her.